Stoke City make the trip to Bristol City on Wednesday evening looking to record their fourth successive victory in the Championship.
Meanwhile, the home side continue to struggle in the second tier, a three-match winless streak leaving Nigel Pearson's side down in 20th spot in the table.
Match preview
© Reuters
Stoke have been the epitome of what the Championship is all about this season, mixing prolonged positive streaks with a run of defeats in succession.
Fortunately for Michael O'Neill's men, four losses in a row has been followed by 10 points being collected over the same amount of games, keeping the Potters in the playoffs by three points.
The latest success came at home to Peterborough United at the weekend, Stoke prevailing by a 2-0 scoreline to also post their third successive clean sheet.
The moment of the contest came in the closing stages as Tyrese Campbell, on his fifth substitute outing since returning from a serious knee injury, netted the match-clinching goal.
While O'Neill will still not be tempted to rush the club's most prized asset, his return to the fold has come at the ideal time as Stoke target moving past third-placed West Bromwich Albion.
© Reuters
As far as Bristol City are concerned, Pearson continues to scrap for his job at Ashton Gate with just four points coming from a possible 21.
Although a 1-1 draw at home to Blackburn Rovers represents a small step in the right direction, it was yet another game where the Robins have blown an advantage.
Bristol City still only sit nine points adrift of the playoffs, but now being within five points of the relegation zone will be more of a pressing concern.
Despite one win having the potential to change everything for the better at Ashton Gate, Pearson can ill-afford to come through the next batch of games without signs of improvement.
- L
- L
- W
- L
- L
- D
- L
- L
- D
- W
- W
- W
Team News
© Reuters
While O'Neill will give some consideration to handing a start to Campbell, the Stoke boss is likely to stick with Steven Fletcher in attack.
Morgan Fox should deputise for Josh Tymon at left wing-back, but Sam Surridge is suspended after his late red card against Peterborough.
Han-Noah Massengo is expected to be handed a recall in the Bristol City midfield, taking the spot of Ayman Benarous.
Rob Atkinson could return at centre-back, allowing Zak Vyner to play at right wing-back, but Danny Simpson and Cameron Pring are also options at the back.
If Pearson opts against playing with a central midfield three, Nahki Wells could come back into the team with Andreas Weimann being used in a deeper position.
Bristol City possible starting lineup:
Bentley; Kalas, Atkinson, Baker; Vyner, Williams, Massengo, Bakinson, O'Dowda; Weimann, Martin
Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Davies; Ostigard, Batth, Chester; Smith, Vrancic, Allen, Sawyers, Fox; Campbell, Brown
We say: Bristol City 1-2 Stoke City
Bristol City have been on an upward trajectory at home, their return from the last two games the best in nine months. However, we cannot look past Stoke, who have the qualities to edge a close game at Ashton Gate.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Stoke City win with a probability of 50.62%. A draw had a probability of 26.9% and a win for Bristol City had a probability of 22.49%.
The most likely scoreline for a Stoke City win was 0-1 with a probability of 14.45%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (10.38%) and 1-2 (8.93%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.42%), while for a Bristol City win it was 1-0 (8.64%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with an 8.6% likelihood.
